CANHR Fact
Sheets:
Common Community-Based Services for Seniors
There are a variety
of community-based programs and services that can assist senior citizens
to remain at home. The descriptions below explain the key types of services
available and where to go to find out more about them. Note:
CANHR offers listings of basic resources for each county in California.
Contact the Senior
Information and Referral (I&R) Program in
your local area by calling the statewide Elder Services Locator Number
1-800-510-2020. Or check the
Community Service section of the phone book. Senior I & R is
the key resource to access all the services described in this fact sheet.
Coordinating Services
Case management (sometimes
referred to as care management or coordination) links persons to needed
services through assessment, planning and monitoring.
- There are publicly funded programs: Multipurpose Senior Services
Program (MSSP—Medi-Cal eligible persons), Linkages, and Program
for All Inclusive Care (PACE—limited counties).
- Home
health agencies can offer short-term case management services.
- There are also fee-for-service private
geriatric case managers.
Personal Care Services
- In
Home Supportive Services (IHSS) and Medi-Cal's Personal Care Services.
Apply through the county welfare department.
- Home
health agencies also provide this service for a fee and Centers
for Independent Living sometimes keep a registry of workers who provide
in-home care on a fee-for-service basis.
Home Health & Hospice
These services are provided
by certified home health agencies. Medicare, Medi-Cal and long-term
care insurance might pay for such services if prescribed by a doctor and
are considered medically necessary. Some home health agencies operate a
Nursing Facility (NF) Waiver Program, providing nursing home type
care in a person's home with funding from Medi-Cal.
Caregiver/Dementia Related Services
The focus is on family
caregivers providing information, counseling, peer support groups and respite
care.
- Contact
one of the state's 9 regional Caregiver Resource Centers or the
local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.
- Contact
the new Family Caregiver Support Program.
- Consider
participating in Adult Social Day Care or Adult Day Health Care.
Nutrition
Contact Senior I&R
or the Area Agency on Aging (AAA). There are recommended donation amounts
for these services.
- Congregate
Senior Nutrition offers meals, usually 5-days per week.
- Home-Delivered
Meals (Meals-on-Wheels).
Monitoring/Companionship
Contact the council
of churches or hospitals.
- Telephone
Reassurance programs.
- Emergency
Response Systems (e.g., Life-Line) charge a monthly fee.
- Friendly
visitors and Senior Companion Program.
Transportation
This is one of the most needed and
lacking services, especially if a person needs to be accompanied, not just
dropped off and picked up.
- Senior
Nutrition and Adult Day Health Care sometimes provide transportation
as part of the service.
- Some
communities offer reduced fees for public transportation, special taxi
services and MediVan services or run volunteer transportation programs.
Bill Paying Services
Bill-paying services are sometimes offered as part of publicly funded case management programs.
Some non-profits offer bill paying or representative payee services
for a fee. If a person lacks cognitive capacity, there are both public
(i.e.,Office of the Public Guardian) and private conservators.
Legal/Advocacy Services
- Contact CANHR's Lawyer Referral Service
for experts throughout the state who specialize in estate planning, resident's
rights and personal injury and medical malpractice in nursing homes.
- Senior
Legal Programs handle consumer and public benefit issues.
- Contact
Adult Protective Services (APS) for alleged abuse, (e.g., physical,
neglect, financial, etc.) that occurs in the community, e.g., the elder's
home or apartment. APS is usually located in the county department
of social services or in the county office of the Public Guardian.
- If
the abuse occurs in a long-term care institution like a Residential Care
Facility for the Elderly or a Skilled Nursing Home, contact the Long
Term Care Ombudsman Program and CANHR.
- Health
Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) handles issues regarding
Medicare billing, Medicare supplemental insurance policies, Medicare HMOs,
and long-term care insurance.
The RCFE Consumer Project is supported,
in part, by a grant from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.
© CANHR 2001.0203
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